Ditching-plow.



No. 855,720. PATENTED JUNE 4, 1907.

E. w. MOODY. DITGHING PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1906.

.4 SHEETS-SHEBT l.

attmmugs PATENTED JUNE 4, 1907.

E. vW. MOODY. DITGHING PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1a, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 11 Flood witnesses THE mamas Fern?! co., WA

No. 855,720. PATENTED JUNE 4, 1907-- E. W. MOODY.

DITGHING PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.13, 190's.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

avwzntoz 5. 2 Wood? Witnesses I tively of Fig.

UNITED STATES PATENT GENO.

DlTCHlNG-PLOW.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1907.

Application filed September 13,1906. Serial No. 334,473. 7

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. MOODY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lewistown, in the county of Fergus, State of Montana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Ditching-Flows; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has reference to ditching plows, its object comprising,generally, the provision of a device of that class adapted to form aditch either upon level ground or upon a hill side.

The particular improvements consist in the formation of a ditching plowin which the wings, of the plow frame, are capable both of a verticaladjustment, to regulate the depth of the furrow cut, and a lateralmovement bodily to enable the plow to operate upon rising ground, orhillside, to either the right or the left of the plowman.

Further improvements include the provi sion upon the plow sled ofayertically slotted standard within which the adjusting lever for thewings works; and the construction of such lever in two sections one ofwhich has a horizontal swinging movement independent of the other.

Still further improvements will be disclosed in the following detaileddescription;

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which like parts are designated bycorresponding reference numerals in the several views, and in which,

Figure 1 is a top plan of the plow showing the wings adapted for use onlevel ground. Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse vertical sections taken onthe lines 22 and 33 respec- 1. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectiontaken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a modifiedform of the invention. Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section taken onthe line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal vertical taken on theline 77 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is aperspective view of the two part adjusting lever.

Referring to the drawings, and especially to Figs. 1 to 4, 1O designatesgenerally the plow sled upon the upper face of which is mounted thevertical standard 11 formed with the vertical guide slots or openings 12and 13 formed respectively in the front and rear faces 14 and sides 15of the standard, and communicating with each other as shown in Fig. 3.The rear face of the standard is provided on each side of and close toits slot having a series of alining perforations 17 formed therein. Thefront end of the sled 10 is provided at opposite sides with seats 18formed in its upper face for the reception of metal straps 19 having theupwardly bent portions 20 at their front ends, such bent portionsforming bearings for the .bar21 upon which the plow frame swings, theends of said'bar fitting in sleeved sockets 22 formed in plates 23secured to the inner face of the wings 24 of the plow frame, whichlatter is of V shape, the wings being connected by the horizontal braces25 and 26 at the front and rear of the plow frame. Said braces arefurther strengthened by the angle-irons 27 and 28 respectively, whilethe plow frame carries at its apeX a V shaped metal strap 29 bolted tothe inner face of wings 24 and projecting slightly above the upper edgeof the wings, the draft chain being attached to such projecting end.Sled 10 is further provided with a V shaped strap 30 secured to theupper face thereof between the straps 19, the front edge of strap 30projecting beyond the front edge of the sled. The members of strap 30are beveled or inclined slightly on their inner face to form a guideopening for the front end of the actuating lever 31 connected with thebar 21 by means of a curved bolt 32 carried on the under face of saidlever at its front end, and embracing said bar, one arm of the boltpassing completely through the lever and provided with a nut, whichlatter serves as an additional means for retention of the bolt. Theactuating lever extends through and works in the guide slot 12 in thestandard 11, and the opening formed by the spaced shoulders 16, the rearend of the lever being provided with the handle portion 33. Said leveris further provided with a longitudinal slot 33 formed thereinintermediate its ends, and adapted to register successively with theperforations 17 in shoulders 16, during movement of the lever in onedirection or the other, the lever being retained in adjusted position bymeans of a j pin or bolt 34 passed through slot 33 and 1 through one ofthe pairs of perforations 17.

12 with a vertical shoulder 16, said shoulders Lever 31 is connectedwith the plow frame by means of ametal strap 35 secured to the underface of the rear brace, 26, said strap pass-- ing beneath said lever andholding the same in contact with said brace, which latter is alsoprovided with an opening 36 formed in its lower edge, the upper half ofsaid lever fitting therein. The wings of the plow frame areapproximately triangular in side elevation, the apex of the trianglepointing toward the ground, the outer face of the wings having theblades 37 and38 secured thereto and projecting slightly below the loweredge of the wings.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that the entire plow frame may beswung upon its pivot bar 21 by means of the actuating lever 31 thusregulating the depth of the furrow or ditch cut, and that'the lever willbe retained, when adjusted, by means of the pin 34.

Figs. 5 to 9 show a form of plow frame adapted especially for ditching ahill side, the sled upon which the frame swings, and the standard 11mounted thereon being similar to those shown in Figs. 1 to 4, and abovedescribed. The wings' 24 are provided, however, with only the frontblades 37, the length of which is greater than that of blades 37, whilethe rear end of said wings is inclined slightly upward, as shown in Fig.8. Each wing 24 has formed therein a horizontal slot 39 located directlyabove the rear end of blades 37, and slightly to the rear of the bracethere being a metal plate 40 secured to the inner face of each wingprovided with a longitudinal opening 41 registering with the slot 39,the ends of the bar 21 carried by the sled- 10 having a lateral playtherein as afterward described. The actuating lever in the modified, orhill side construction, is composed of two sections .42 and 43. theformer being connected to bar 21 in like manner with lever 31. The rearend of said section is provided with the straps 44 bolted to its upperand lower faces, and extending beyond said. section, as shown, theextended ends having the alining bolt openings 45 formed therein. Thelower strap 44 is bent downwardly intermediate its ends as at 46 to forma shoulder. A strap 35 is secured to the under face of the rear brace26, which latter has a longitudinal opening 36 formed in its under facedirectly above the downwardly bent portion of said strap, the spacebetween the upper edge of opening 36 and said strap being sufficient toenable the lever member 42 to extend therethrough: The rear section 43of the lever is provided at its front end with straps 47 perforated asat 48, a bolt 49 being passed through the perforations or openings 47and 45 of the straps 44 and 47 to connect the lever sections, the frontsection of the lever and the rear brace of the plow frame working in thecorrespond- I ing guide openings 12 and 13 of the standard 11 in amanner similar to that in which the lever 31 and brace 26 operate. Thewings 24 of the plow frame carry strips 50 secured to their inner faceat the rear end thereof and connected by means of links 51 with similarstrips 52 mounted on the lever section 43 toward the handle portionthereof, the eye-ends of said links being secured to the outwardly bentportions of said strips. The entire plow frame is adjustable verticallyby means of the adjusting lever, in a manner similar to that alreadydescribedin connection with the first mentioned construction, beingretained in adjusted position by means of the pin 34 which passesthrough the perforated shoulders 16 and through the opening formed bythe shoulder 46 in the strap 44. In addition to such verticaladjustment, the plow frame may also be swung bodily to the right orleft, according to the situation of the hill, by means of the linkconnection between the lever section 43, with the wings 24 and thepivotal connection between said section and the section 42, movement ofsection 43 to one side or the other causing a corresponding movement ofthe plow frame, as will be readily understood.

In turning or drawing the plow to the place where the ditch is to beformed, the adjusting lever is lowered until its slot is in alinementwith the lowermost pair of perforations in the standard shoulders, whenthe retaining pin is inserted in place, the nose of the plow beingraised above the ground, when the frame is in such position, thusrendering the plow inoperative.

When the first described plow frame is in use, the dirt is thrown toboth sides, as the ditch is formed, but when the hill side frame is inoperation, and is swung to one side or the other, the upper side orcutting edge will be practically horizontal, the inclined lower frameserving to throw the dirt out of the ditch, downwardly.

The sled sides are provided with a series of bolts53 having forwardlyextending heads attached to the sled when the hill side plow frame isused. A chain 55 which connects the draft chain with the V-shaped strap30, may also be employed, in connection with the hill side plow frame,and, if desired, the movable section 43 of the actuating lever, may beprovided at its inner end with a hook 56, adapted to engage thecorresponding link 51, when the lever is shifted in one direction or theother to holdthe lever in adjusted position.

Further explanation of the operation of the plow is thought unnecessary,in vlew of the foregoing extended description.

The device is susceptible of numerous slight modifications and changeswithin the scope of the claims, and the invention 1s to fit the openingsin the land side 54 which is therefore not limited to the exact detailsof construction shown and described.

That is claim is 1- 1. A plow comprising a sled, a plow frame pivotallyconnected with the front end of said sled and including wings directlyconnected together at their front ends and extending on opposite sidesof the sled; a brace connecting said wings; and an actuating leverpivotally mounted upon said sled and connected with said brace, forbodily raising and lowering said frame.

2. A plow comprising a sled; a plow frame pivotally connected with thefront end of said sled and including wings extending on opposite sidesthereof; means mounted upon said sled and provided with communicatingguide slots disposed at right angles to each other; means connectingsaid wings and movable in one of said guide slots; and ac tuating meanspivotally mounted upon said sled and attached to said connecting means,for raising and lowering said plow frame, said. actuating means beingmovable in the other of said guide slots.

3. A plow comprising a sled; a standard mounted upon the sled andprovided with vertical guide slots disposed longitudinally andtransversely of the sled; a plow frame pivotally connected with the sledand including wings extending on opposite sides of the sled; a braceconnecting the wings and working in the transverse guide slot in thestand ard; and an actuating lever working in the vertical guide slot andconnected with the plow frame and brace for raising and lowering thesame. g

4. A plow comprising a sled; a standard mounted upon the sled andprovided with vertical guide slots disposed longitudinally andtransversely of the sled; a pair of shoul ders secured to the standardand arranged on opposite sides of the lougitudinal opening therein, saidshoulders having a series of alining openings; a plow frame pivotallyc011- nected with said sled, and comprising wings extending on oppositesides of said sled; a brace connecting said wings and working in saidtransverse guide slot; an actuating lever working in said longitudinalguide slot, and connected with said plow frame and brace for raising andlowering said plow frame, said lever having a longitudinal slot adaptedto register with the openings in said shoulders, and means adapted to bepassed through said lever slot and said openings, for retaining saidlever in adjusted position.

5. A plow comprising a sled; a V-shaped plow frame pivotally connectedwith the front end of said sled and including wings disposed on oppositesides thereof, the apex of said frame being disposed in advance of saidsled; a bar mounted upon the front end of said sled and having its endsconnected with said wings; and an actuating lever connected with saidbar and brace for bodily raising and lowering said plow frame.

6. A plow comprising a sled; a plow frame pivotally connected with thefront end of said sled and including wings extending on opposite sidesthereof; means for bodily raising and lowering said plow. frame; andmeans for bodily shifting said plow frame to one side or the other.

7. A plow comprising a sled; a plowframe pivotally connected with thefront end of said sled and including wings extending on opposite sidesthereof; means for bodily raising and lowering said plowframe; means forretaining said plow frame in its vertically adjusted position; and meansfor bodily shifting said plow frame laterally when so adjusted.

S. A plow comprising a sled; a plow frame pivotally mounted upon thefront end of said sled, and including wings extending on opposite sidesthereof; and an actuating lever pivotally mounted upon said sledandconnected with said frame for raising and lowering the same; saidlever having an independently movable section for bodily shifting saidplow frame to one side or the other.

9. A plow comprising a sled; a plow frame pivotally mounted upon thefront end of said sled, and including wings extending on opposite sidesthereof; a brace connecting said wings; and an actuating lever forraising and lowering said plow frame, said lever comprising a mainsection connected with said sled and said brace, and an independentlymovable section pivotally connected with said main section and with saidwings, for bodily shifting said plow frame to one side or the other.

10. A plow comprising a sled; a standard mounted thereon and formed witha vertical guide slot; a plow frame pivotally mounted upon the front endof said sled, and including wings extending on opposite sides thereof;and an actuating lever pivotally mounted upon said sled for raising orlowering said plow frame, said lever working in said guide slot, andhaving an independently movable section for bodily shifting said plowframe to one side or the other.

11. A plow comprising a sled; a standard mounted thereon, and providedwith a vertical guide slot; a pair of shoulders secured to said standardand arranged on opposite sides of said guide slot; said shoulders havinga plurality of alining openings; a plow frame pivotally mounted upon thefront end of said sled, and including wings extending on opposite sidesthereof; and actuating lever pivotally mounted upon said sled forraising or lowering said plow frame, said lever working through theguide slot in said standard, and having a longitudinal slot adapted toregister with the openings in said shoulders; a pin adapted to beinserted through said openings and said slot; for retaining the plowframe in adjusted vertical position; and an independently movablesection pivotally connected to the rear end of said adjusting leverandto said wings, for bodily shifting said plow frame to one side or theother.

12. A plow comprising a sled; a bar mounted on bearings in the front endof said sled; a plow frame pivotally mounted upon said bar and includingwings extending upon opposite sides of said sled, each wing having alongitudinal slot formed therein, through which the adjacent bar endprojects; and means for bodily shifting said plow frame to one side orthe other of said sled.

13. A plow comprising a sled; a bar mounted on bearings in the front endof said sled; a

plow frame pivotally mounted upon said bar and including wings extendingupon opposite sides of said sled, each Wing having a longitudinal slotformed therein, through which the adjacent bar end projects; and meansconnected with said bar and plow frame for raising and lowering thelatter, said means having an independently movable section for bodilyshifting said plow frame to one side or the other of said sled.

In testimony whereof, I affiX my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

EDWARD W. MOODY.

